


Sacred Heart

by Bagxe, Chowder



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Comedy, Doctor AU, F/F, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Medical Jargon, Multi Chapter, Slow Burn, copious amounts of coffee consumption, hospital romance, loose plot, loosely inspired by Scrubs, no one sleeps in this AU, workplace shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2019-11-03 21:35:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17885630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bagxe/pseuds/Bagxe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chowder/pseuds/Chowder
Summary: Sacred Heart Hospital was known for its great staff. Always attentive with good work ethic, Sacred Heart’s staff was regarded as one of the best in the country. That didn’t mean they didn’t have problems of their own. Coffee addiction was rampant, sleep deprivation was normal, and why was it that romance among coworkers was considered hazardous again?The Doctor AU no one asked for but we provided anyway.





	1. Mornings Suck, For Everyone

**Author's Note:**

> Uhh, this is literally the first thing I’ve ever written creatively so sorry if it’s clunky at some parts. I was gonna have this be a soriku but I love writing everyone so it’s an overarching au rather than ship focused. PLEASE don’t hold back criticism I very much need it. I wanna thank the wonderful and amazing Chowder for co-writing this with me. My only real strength is writing dialogue and she really makes up for it with her vivid descriptions that breaths life into the characters. This fic was a blast for us to write and we hope you enjoy it!

Sacred Heart Hospital was a fairly large hospital that resided at the epicenter of Twilight City. Its different wings branched out from its central building, wide and reaching, inviting to all its visitors. Just as inviting was the hospital’s staff. Always attentive with good work ethic, Sacred Heart’s staff was regarded as one of the best in the country.

At Sacred Heart’s center was the main building, which housed a small gift shop and a cafe. The gift shop’s front had a small display of flower arrangements to one side of the door and to the other, a tower of teddy bears. Stocked inside was a multitude of overpriced gifts and had a variety of snacks behind the counter. The cafe, on the other hand, was where the real food was at. It was generally regarded as having decent food and good coffee, and was definitely a haven for tired patients and hospital staff alike. 

Today had started like every other at Sacred Heart Hospital, Sora said good morning to everyone he passed with a smile so bright it could blind a man. The first thing he made sure to do was check up on all of the patients on the floor, assuring they were ready for the day, and met with Kairi at the cafe for breakfast. 

Sora made his way to the order counter, grabbing his and Kairi’s usual caffeine fix for the day. When he turned around to look for her at their usual spot, Kairi had her head slumped on the table, her wild hair a disheveled mess spread out like jungle vines. 

Sora walked over and set down a hot travel cup in front of Kairi. "One black coffee for you, and one coffee with 12 sugars for me." He held up the coffee to show her it was a milky brown and had nearly enough sugar at the bottom to put a man in a coma.

Kairi barely picked her head up to regard Sora. The bags under her eyes could hold coins and her mouth was twisted into a scowl. “Sora, two things: it is inhumane to have that much energy at this hour, and that's not coffee it's coffee flavored syrup.” As she said this, she held up one finger for each point she made. 

Sora blinked his wide eyes at her as if he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about and took a large sip from his sugar flavoured coffee. This only seemed to amplify his energy tenfold. 

“Aww c'mon Kairi perk up!” Sora said, bright smile lighting up his face. “It's a new day, the sun is shining, life is good--there's no reason not to be happy! Plus my coffee is delicious, you’re seriously missing out.” He took another sip just to prove his point. Kairi looked less than pleased as she cradled her own cup close to her chest. 

Out of nowhere the chair next to Sora’s was loudly pulled back and Vanitas plopped himself into it with a loud huff. He wore his usual uniform consisting of a gray jumpsuit with the hospital crest on the chest pocket. The short sleeves were folded to show off his biceps. 

“Sup, nerds,” he said in lieu of a greeting. 

“Good morning Vani!” Sora said with his usual beaming smile in place. Vanitas shielded his eyes for the sake of his vision.

“Okay sunshine I'm gonna need you to tone it down a bit.”

Kairi looked a bit more awake now with the addition of caffeine in her system. She gestured at Vanitas with the hand holding her cup, glare still directed at Sora. “See I'm not the only one, it's okay to be tired in the morning Sora. Y'know, like a normal person.”

Vanitas rolled his eyes as he sat up in his chair. “Oh I'm not tired, I just don't appreciate being blasted with a ray of pure light. Only lazy people are tired Kairi.” 

“Ha! Well I don't agree with him calling you lazy but still, ha!” Sora shook his almost empty coffee cup, his outburst attracting pointed stares from the disgruntled people sitting nearby. 

Kairi didn’t seem to appreciate the jab. “Well excuuuuse me,Vanitas, I just came off 13 hours of a 16 hour shift. So I'm sorry if I'm a bit cranky.” Her tone was completely void of sincerity.

“Sorry to hear that Kairi. How'd it go?” Sora said, suddenly serious and full of sympathy. 

Kairi looked more amenable to the change in topic. “Honestly it was great, I was kicking every problem’s ass without a second thought. So I decided to take a short nap as a reward. Then I woke up in hell.” She threw back the last of her coffee in one large gulp. 

“Woooah that's fuckin’ crazy, did you meet Satan?” snarked Vanitas, who was leaning on his hand, elbow propped on the edge of the table. 

Kairi shot daggers his way. “Yes, as a matter of fact I did. He's sitting right in front of me.” 

Vanitas grabbed the breast of his uniform, scrunching the material as he clutched for his heart, all dramatics out. “Ouch, that was just unnecessary, I have feelings too y’know.” 

Sora ignored the theatrics. “Anyway, what happened next?” 

Kairi stopped trying to mentally kill Vanitas, looking back at Sora to continue laying out her grievances. “Well to keep a long story short, all the interns turned their brains off and I spent the last 3 hours putting out fires, I am very tired and ready to keel over and die at any second.” 

“Don’t do that Kairi you’re a valued staff member and an excellent physician.” remarked a new voice.

Kairi turned and nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized the person who spoke was Aqua, the chief of medicine, standing right behind her. As always, Aqua was dressed impeccably in a light blouse and navy work pants with short professional heels. On her wrist was her ever present bracelet, upon which sat a small wayfinder charm. Behind her trailed Ventus, one of Sacred Heart’s secretaries. In contrast to Aqua’s signature blue, Ventus wore a white dress shirt under a green sweater vest with light pants. When he glanced up, the light caught his round, frameless glasses. 

“Morning Aqua, morning Ven!” Sora chirped, still radiating pure light.

“Good morning you three,” Aqua said in kind. For it being so early in the morning, she too was a bright ray of kindness. 

“Jesus fucking Christ, it’s like you guys want to burn me alive.” Vanitas covered his face with his hands, doing his best to block out the world around him. 

“I think the world would be a much better place if that happened,” Ventus said.

Vanitas peeked through his fingers at him. “Oh, go fall into a coma, blondie.” 

“If it means I wouldn’t have to see you then I’d happily do it.”

“That’s quite enough you two.” Aqua was as sweet as they come, but incredibly intimidating when she put her foot down. Ventus and Vanitas promptly shut up, not feeling inclined to push her any farther. “I respect each and every one of you, meaning I expect you to respect each other.”

In a futile attempt to hide his attitude, Ventus chose his next words carefully. “Ma’am, I’ve never doubted your judgement but how can this person still have a job here? I’ve never seen this slacker even lift a finger.” 

Vanitas’ brought his hands away from his face. “And yet this hospital shines like a diamond every morning, why do you think that is, Venty-Wenty?” His lip had lifted up on one side in a snarl, teeth bared. He looked like a puffed up cat with his wild head of hair. 

Aqua didn’t look phased by the thickening tension that had settled in the air. “Despite his bad habits, Vanitas does his job exceptionally well, you could try to be more like him Ventus.” 

Ventus’ expression looked like someone had just told him they enjoy punting infants, which was an activity he wouldn't put past Vanitas. 

Vanitas let out a boisterous laugh as he got up from his seat.

“Wow what a great way to start the day, thanks for the laugh losers.” He curtseyed towards Aqua, lifting a pretend skirt as he bowed low. “Madame.” Vanitas then shifted his focus to Ventus and shot him a devious smile, his golden-brown eyes practically glowing with his mirth. “Later, Venty-Wenty.”  
With that, Vanitas stalked off to places unknown. Everyone watched him go and felt like a hurricane had just passed through. 

The pet name had a much different tone than the first time Vanitas said it. Ventus felt his cheeks flush, and he was suddenly more upset with his own reaction than he was at Vanitas’ farewell. 

A clap startled the small group out of their trance. Aqua said, “We should follow his lead and all get some work done. Sora I need you to show the new interns around, and Kairi you still have three hours left in your shift.” 

Kairi slumped back down in her seat. She looked absolutely defeated at the reminder that her shift was not over yet. Sora thought she would either begin to bawl in protest or go completely feral and trash the quaint little cafe--Kairi was quite vocal when she didn’t want to do something. Fortunately, she resorted to neither option. Instead, with sudden resolve, Kairi slammed down her empty cup on the table and stood to get right up in her boss’s face. Sora and Ventus went wide eyed. Kairi stared dead into Aqua’s deep blue eyes, and Aqua returned the stare with her own steady gaze. Neither of them spoke a word.

One could hear a pin drop in the wound up silence. Not even the bustle of the cafe around them seemed to disturb the group of staff. Sora and Ventus could do nothing but watch on with bated breath. 

As if something snapped, Kairi dropped to her knees and hugged her boss’s legs. It was only when Kairi raised her head, did Sora realize what his friend was attempting. Kairi’s eyes seemed to have doubled in size and cuteness, making a newborn puppy look like a sack of moldy potatoes.

“Pleeeease, Aqua let me go home, I’m oh so tired, you wouldn’t let one of your favorite workers suffer would you?” 

She was good. Sora assumed it was all over at this point, no one could possibly say no to Kairi’s puppy eyes. She used them as a last resort to bail herself out of trouble. 

“Oh my sweet wonderful child.” Aqua placed an affectionate hand on Kairi’s head and gave her a smile brimming with love. “Get back to work.” 

A shell shocked Kairi looked up at Aqua. The fact that Aqua’s expression hadn’t changed but somehow radiated a quiet malice horrified Kairi. Accepting defeat, she turned back to the table to grab her chart and empty cup and walked off, grumbling about braindead interns and her stuffed animals waiting for her at home. 

Pretending he didn’t just witness a murder at 6:23am, Sora cleared his throat. “So Aqua, got anything you need done?”

Aqua beamed. “Ah, thank you for reminding me. I need you to give the two new interns a tour of the hospital.”

A puzzled look spread across Sora’s face. “I thought we already had the maximum numbers of interns?” 

“Oh, we did,” Aqua said, blunt as a sledgehammer. Her face was still as soft as ever.

Not wanting to know what had become of those poor souls, Sora decided to not pry any further. “Well I can’t wait to meet them! Nothing better than making new friends.”

At that exact moment, a young man and woman, speaking amicably to each other, were stopped at the main entrance to Sacred Heart Hospital by a shady figure.


	2. First Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than the previous one and I had to overcome lots of writer's block to get this chapter written. I’d like to thank the wonderful Chowder for co-writing and giving me tons of inspiration. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter and thank you so much for the support!

First days on the job were always nerve-wracking. Roxas couldn’t help but feel anxious. He could feel his hands getting all gross and clammy. Plus he was doing that thing where he subtly bounced in place, a clear sign his anxiety was rapidly rising. The words “I can’t do this” were flying around his head growing heavier with each passing second.

Roxas and his longtime friend Xion were both pre-med students. They had studied their way through some of the toughest classes known to college students, pulled all-nighters to sweat blood on exams, and now here they were. Sacred Heart had recently posted a job listing saying they needed two new pre-med interns. Xion was lucky to have seen it and sent both of their resumes in as soon as possible, knowing these types of opportunities went quickly. To both her and Roxas’ surprise, they had gotten in. Sacred Heart was known among the pre-med and nursing students at the local colleges as the place to work. However, there was one problem: it was hard to get a job there and keep it. Roxas and Xion thanked God that they even were given the chance.

Now came the hard part: keeping the job. Roxas was very nearly about to faint standing there, staring at the “Entrance” sign above the entrance to the main building. He really didn’t want to go in.

Xion smacked him in the back of the head to knock him out of his intrusive thinking.

Roxas cried out. “The fuck was that for?” He rubbed the tender spot, messing up his already messy head of hair.

“You were freaking out and frankly it was annoying. Remember that confidence is key. Just act like you’re a huge smartass and no one will think twice,” Xion said, her tone like a sagely mother.

Roxas stopped rubbing his throbbing head as he contemplated her advice. Professionalism and confidence were key to getting a permanent job in a competitive field. People who were meak or weak-minded were sifted out of the pool of wannabe professionals almost immediately. Experienced internship supervisors had a nose for sniffing out people of that mindset. But it also wouldn’t do to kiss ass as an intern. Professionals didn’t like that either. One had to walk a fine line between being professional and confident and seeming like they were just begging for a job. And if Roxas really wanted this job, he needed to learn fast how to be an exceptional intern.

With that thought in mind, Roxas took a deep breath and righted himself, shoulders back, hands in fists at his side. “You're right... let’s show this place we mean business!”

Xion grinned brightly, clapping her hands. “There’s the Roxy I know! This hospital won’t know what hit ‘em.”

With their newfound determination, the pair stepped through the sliding glass doors in unison, bumping straight into a young man hunched over a mop bucket. The first thing Roxas and Xion noticed was his rolled up sleeves, showing off the slight muscle definition in his arms. The second thing they noticed was when the man looked up, his eyes were a startling gold, and he looked very unhappy to have been jostled so unkindly from his working position.

“Oh my God we’re so sorry it was an accident we swear it’ll never happen again.” Xion was so terrified she forgot to breathe between her words.

Roxas, despite being the panicked one a moment ago, was mostly unphased. “Xion calm down, he’s just the janitor. What's he gonna do; skewer you with his mop?” Though with the wild look in the man's eyes, Roxas believed he was fully capable of doing so.

“Hey!” Roxas turned back to address the man when he yelled, suddenly realizing the guy had gotten right up in his face. “Who are you calling just the janitor? Franky, I find that offensive. My job is just as important as any other fancy pants position in this place. And just so you can stop being misinformed, I go by the title Sanitation Technician.”

Roxas suddenly recalled the advice he’d been given not that long ago, so without thinking too hard about it, he said, “Listen short stuff.” Roxas could see the burning hatred in the man’s eyes as he made the remark. Roxas swallowed his fear, there was no going back now. “The two of us have places to be. You’re just wasting our time throwing a fit over spilled mop water.”

In one swift motion, Roxas grabbed Xion's hand and pulled her further into the depths of the hospital. She looked a bit frazzled by the interaction and had chosen to dutifully remain quiet throughout.

They could hear the man scream after them, “The name’s Vanitas, shithead!”

For early in the morning, the hospital was clearly busy. People were milling about in the lobby, asking staff and attendants questions, sitting on benches with family. In their hurry to escape the miffed ‘Sanitary Technician’ named Vanitas, Roxas and Xion had passed a nearly full cafe and a gift shop where a couple of people could be seen looking at different knickknacks.

They made their way out of the more populous entryway and trudged deeper into the yawning depths of the hospital. Here, it was quieter. Fewer people were around, but it was more ominous. The fluorescent bulbs were unnaturally sterile, casting eerie shadows on the closed doors that lined the hallways. Roxas’ nerves, already frayed from the encounter, seemed more agitated the farther he and Xion made their way into the building.

Roxas didn’t know where they were headed or where they should be in the first place. So wrapped up in his own thoughts of escape, he had forgotten to walk at a normal pace. Roxas turned a sharp corner that lead to another long hallway and for the second time that morning, he slammed right into someone.

The collision Roxas had with the man in front of him had Xion face-plant right into Roxas, and she felt her nose squish painfully. If these types of meetings kept happening, she herself would need to be admitted to the very hospital she was trying to get a job at. Xion brought a hand up to rub her smarting nose as she peeked her head around Roxas’ shoulder to take a look at the person sprawled on the floor before them. He had been knocked flat on his ass by the sheer force of two people hitting him.

“Hey are you okay? Sorry about that. Blondie here was just running for his life and forgot he was in a hospital full of people,” Xion said, letting go of Roxas’ hand to offer it to the stranger.

“Yeah I’m good, thanks,” the man said. He cracked a bit of a smile and took Xion’s proffered hand, letting himself be helped to his feet. Once he was up, he dusted off some imaginary dirt from his pristine red scrubs.

Still slightly stupefied, Roxas shook himself out of his daze and finally focused on the person in front of him. His eyes widened once he got a good look at his victim. His fight or flight instinct was almost immediately triggered when he saw that the guy looked exactly like the angry custodian he’d recently had the displeasure of bumping into. Upon further inspection, and with a slightly clearer mind, he realized the similarities ended there. This man in front of them had a softer, rounded face, with slight definitions of laugh lines around his eyes despite how young he looked. His eyes were a deep shade of calming blue instead of fiery gold, and though his hair was the same just-woke-up messy as Vanitas’, it was a rich chocolatey brown.

Now, the man grinned at both of them to show off two rows of pearly white teeth. “I’m Sora by the way,” he said. “So--you two are the new interns, I assume?”

Xion, back to herself once more, returned Sora’s smile. “You assume correct. I’m Xion and this here is my sidekick, Roxas. We’re primed and ready to eff some germs up!”

Xion held out her hand for Sora to shake, which he did with more enthusiasm than someone should be allowed to have for butt-awful o’clock AM. He had to have coffee in his system, Roxas guessed.

Roxas crossed his arms. “Alright try not to get too excited Xion. We’re pre-meds, not professional wrestlers.” Roxas was not a morning person by any means, and in light of what had happened with Vanitas, he was crankier than usual.

Xion shot him a teasing look. “Hey man, don’t tell me how to do my job and I won’t tell you how to do yours. If I want to elbow drop the syphilis out of someone that’s my prerogative.”

Watching the two friends banter for a bit, Sora stood off to the side, laughing. “That enthusiasm is perfect, but right now you two don’t know enough to help out no matter how much you want to.” Xion and Roxas glanced at each other, uneasy. “Don’t look so down guys. That’s why I’m here!” Sora put his clenched fists on his hips, legs spread slightly and chin held high in a confident pose. Roxas noted that Sora was slightly smaller than he himself was. “I’ll show you the ropes so you two can help others as soon as possible.”

Sora’s smile was infectious. Cautious and filled with renewed hope, Roxas and Xion smiled back.

Relaxing from his heroic pose, Sora cleared his throat. Back to business, then. “First things first, you two need to learn the layout of this place and it just so happens I know this place like the back of my hand. And by the end of the tour, you will too.”

With that, he turned and began walking down the hallways where he had initially come from, Roxas and Xion close at his heels.

After 40 minutes, they’d been inside every patient room, lab, and broom closet on the first floor, and there were still eight floors to go. Sora wasn’t exaggerating about how familiar they would get with the hospital. 

Sora and Xion, unsurprisingly, hit it off right away. The two were chatting endlessly as if they were friends catching up after years apart, never without a conversation topic. Roxas hated to interrupt but if he had to meet one more elderly person he’d never see again he was gonna scream.

Roxas cleared his throat to get their attention. “Uhh … We really appreciate you showing us around, but shouldn’t you be giving us a tour of the places we’ll actually be working in?”

Sora stopped mid-sentence, towards the end of a conversation about some woman who went on to sew dresses for diabetic young girls after her daughter had been diagnosed with diabetes. How he and Xion had gotten to that topic of conversation, Roxas would never know. They were currently standing in the fairly large waiting room of an orthopedic doctor’s office. Only one patient was sitting in a waiting chair, watching the small staticy TV playing a news broadcast, purse clutched in her lap. The secretary behind one of the three glass windows was giving them unkind glances from over the top of her rectangular glasses. Roxas felt like he was being probed.

Sora ducked his head sheepishly to rub the back of his neck. “Sorry about that, I just love working here so much that I got a little carried away.” His lighthearted smile and carefree tone made it impossible to doubt his words. “Since we spent a little too much time on the first floor, I’ll just give you the breakdown.”

Suddenly, Sora turned into a fire hose of information, spewing facts at a rate that would be impossible to keep up with. He didn’t even pause to take a breath as he rattled off locations and room numbers at top speed. A frantic Roxas turned to see if Xion was getting any of this. To his complete and utter shock, she had pulled out a small notepad (where she had gotten it from, Roxas couldn’t say) and was furiously scribbling away on it with a ballpoint pen. Roxas gave a slow blink.

As Sora kept talking, they moved out of the orthopedic doctor’s waiting room. The secretary watched them leave with all the disdain every old person must hold for the younger generations. Roxas was glad to be out of her sight as Sora led him and Xion to an elevator down the hall. When the doors closed, he pressed the button for the third floor. All the while, he kept talking.

As the elevator made a ding, Sora took an audible breath. He ushered Roxas and Xion down another very similar hallway to the one they had just been in. “Alright! To wrap things up, this is the third floor, also known as the ICU. Since you two are assigned up here, it’s the floor you need to know the most.”

It had appeared they had entered what was supposedly the third floor’s lobby area. Around them, hospital-goers were sat on benches scattered around the area. Sora had stopped in front of a fairly large, enclosed circular area with computer monitors and keyboards sitting on the counter tops. Some simple desk chairs were haphazardly strewn in the middle of the station. One chair was occupied by someone bent over a folder of papers; probably a secretary. Around the secretary, a couple people in scrubs were pondering monitors, occasionally clicking at something on the screens.

Sora slapped a hand on the uppermost part of the circular counter top. “Over here is the nurse's station where you’ll be given patients and can find any record you need. The break room’s around the corner and that’s pretty much it. Any questions?”

Roxas hadn’t retained a single thing Sora said. Luckily, Xion had transcribed every word that had come out of his mouth. She firmly shut her small notepad and stuffed it someplace Roxas couldn’t see. Xion was meant for the intern life.

“Enough talk, man! When are we gonna start doing doctor stuff, like yelling ‘stat’ and running in slow motion?” Leave it to Xion to be in a joking mood on the first day at a professional job.

Sora gave a good-natured laugh and scratched at his chin pensively. “Uhm, we don’t really do that here; but we do meet up for Uno after work sometimes.”

“Life is but a series of endless disappointments,” Xion said, and let out a heavy sigh.

“Don’t be upset. How about I introduce you to the attendings?”

Sora practically skipped around to the other side of the circular station, where the secretary was still bent over his folders of papers, pen in hand. He didn’t seem to have noticed their presence, despite how loudly Sora and Xion must have been talking.

“Hey Ven!” Sora said, leering over the top of the counter. “Could you tell me who are the attendings assigned to the new interns?”

“Sorry Sora, I’d love to help but I’m totally swamped. Please come back later,” Ventus said without looking up, glasses perched precariously on the tip of his nose. He wrote something down in the file folder.

“Aw, c'mon Ven! It’ll only take a second.” Sora was practically whining. “These two are desperate to get to work and I’d hate to let them down. Could you live with yourself if you disappointed these adorable faces?” He gestured emphatically at Roxas and Xion stood off to the side politely.

When Sora turned his attention to glance back at Roxas and Xion, he did a double take. His head whipped back and forth to look between Ventus and Roxas before taking a long pause as his brain processed what exactly was happening.

The four of them stewed in silence for a bit. Ventus raised an imploring eyebrow at Sora, pen still poised over the file. Roxas and Xion exchanged a confused look and shrugged at each other.

After a while of Sora gaping like a fish, Roxas made an attempt to speak. “Uh, Sor-?”

“Oh my God, you and Ven look exactly alike!” Sora’s outburst interrupted Roxas, who cringed at his volume.

Xion was also glancing back and forth between Ventus and Roxas now. “What? You’re crazy Sora. They don't even-” She paused to consider this thought for a bit, then, “-holy shit they totally do!”

Roxas and Ventus carefully examining one another.

“I don’t see it,” Roxas finally said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, you two are making stuff up and frankly, I don’t have time for this.” Ventus pushed his glasses up his nose. Sora and Xion, bewilderment still on their faces, were convinced that the accused twins were messing with them.

Ventus turned to a nearby monitor to clack away at the keyboard until he had the files he was looking for on his screen. He took a good hard look at the screen, clicking a few times on different things before he finally seemed to find what he was looking for.

Pushing up his glasses again, Ventus turned to the interns. “Alright. Xion, your attending physician will be Dr. Kairi. Roxas, yours is Dr. Riku.”

Xion whooped, pumping her fist in the air. “Hell yeah! Woman-doctor-role-model time y’all. Though I’m slightly bummed out I don’t get to be paired with you, Dr. Sora.” She batted her eyes playfully.

Sora threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Dr. Sora, nice one Xion.” Upon regaining his composure, Sora was met with two faces of confusion. “Oh you were serious … Well allow me to officially introduce myself.” He quickly straightened up and held his hand to his head in mock salute. “Nurse Sora, reporting for duty!”

Roxas and Xion didn’t know why it came as such a shock to them, male nurses weren’t uncommon. Sora just seemed to carry such a positive and healing presence that one couldn’t help but assume be was a doctor.

“We’re really sorry, you know so much about this place and seem to fit right in we didn’t expect you to be just a nurse. Not that there’s anything wrong that! It’s just that, uh …” Xion trailed off.

Roxas decided to cut in and help his struggling friend. “We’re just surprised you aren’t a doctor is all, she didn’t mean anything by it.”

Xion gave Roxas a soft smile of appreciation.

“Hmm, I guess it wasn’t really an insult. Besides, I love being a nurse! Seeing patients recover day by day, goofing off with kids in pediatrics, teaching you two to survive here.” Sora smiled brightly at the interns. “Well we don’t wanna keep your attendings waiting. I'm pretty sure Kairi’s in the break room, and I have no idea what Dr. Riku looks like so good luck with that. Have a great first day guys!”

And just like that, their new energetic ally waved goodbye as he jogged down the hall and disappeared around the corner. Roxas turned to his doppelganger, resting his arms on the elevated counter top.

“So,” he said conversationally, “do you know what Dr. Riku looks like?”

Ventus was bent back over another file, flipping through its contents. “Tall, silver hair, docter-y.”

Roxas slumped into his arms and frowned. “Wow, do you know anything that’d actually help me find him?”

Ventus paused for a moment and gave Roxas a blank stare. His striking blue eyes peeked over his glasses. Ventus leaned forward, gesturing at Roxas to come closer as he cupped his hands over his mouth, like he was about to reveal what was at the center of a tootsie pop. Roxas offered up his ear.

“He has a stethoscope,” Ven whispered into Roxas’ ear.

Roxas remained awkwardly perched over the counter, assuming Ven had more to say. Then, he slipped back from his awkward position bent over the counter when he realized Ventus didn’t have any more useful information.

Xion was smiling at the two all the while as Roxas and Ventus conspired together. They really looked more similar the closer they were to each other.

“Gee, thanks for all the help man.” Roxas grumbled as he stepped away from the nurses’ station and headed in the direction of the break room. If Ventus was going to be unhelpful, Roxas might as well ask someone else where his attending physician was.

“Don’t worry about Mr. Grumpy. Thanks a bunch, you’ve been a huge help,” Xion said as she turned away from the station as well. “Wait up, Roxy!” Xion called out to Roxas as she followed behind him at a brisk walk.

From where he sat still hunched over his files, Ventus could hear the two discussing quietly how they were supposed to track down Dr. Riku. He couldn’t help but feel a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips which soon spread to the rest of his face. He loved making new friends.


	3. Doctoring is Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels amazing to finally release this chapter cause writer's block was kicking my ass for multiple days and now I'm glad I get to share it with you guys. As always thanks to my wonderful co-writer Chowder for helping bring this chapter to life. Hope you guys enjoy it and if you did don't be afraid to leave a comment because they mean A LOT. Thanks!

Locating two doctors in a giant hospital was going to be a challenge. But not wanting to be chastised for spending their entire first day doing absolutely nothing, Roxas and Xion figured they had no choice but to take on the endeavor. 

When Xion caught up with Roxas after he had left the nurse’s station, she noticed that he wasn’t headed towards the breakroom at all. Instead, they veered off into a long hallway with lots of closed doors lining the walls. A nurse or two could be seen rolling a medical computer trolley or holding a clipboard as they entered and exited some of the rooms. Xion turned, shooting Roxas an inquisitive look with her eyebrows raised. 

“I know Sora told us where Dr. Kairi is, but we should check every patient room on the floor just to be safe,” Roxas offered with a tilt of his head. 

Doctor’s were busy people. They usually didn’t have time to sit in a breakroom and dilly dally while there were sick people that needed tending to. Xion nodded agreeingly. “Sure thing, but there’s no guarantee she’s gonna be with a patient. I say we open every single door on the floor until we find Dr. Kairi.” 

They had both stopped in front of one of the first doors in the hallway to contemplate and plan. “Xion this place is huge and that could take us all day.” Roxas sized up the hallway, mentally counting all the doors. “We should split up, check each side of the floor twice then meet back up at the nurse’s station so we can head up to the other floors. Then …” Roxas paused when he realized there was no one standing next to him anymore. Xion was all the way down the hall opening and closing every door that stood in front of her, apologizing to patients as she interrupted their mornings.

Roxas’ mouth opened and closed again, not dissimilar to a fish out of water. “Xion what are you--?”

Before Roxas could finish his sentence, Xion slammed the door to the room she was checking with such a force that the plaques hanging on the hospital walls shook precariously. She was breathing as if she’d just ran a decathlon without a day of training, her chest rising and falling with such speed as she gulped in air. 

“Hair … back … so much … Don’t wanna be a doctor anymore.” When she turned to look at Roxas still standing at the end of the hall, her eyes were wide and glassy. A lock of her hair had fallen from its place tucked behind on of her ears. 

Roxas simply blinked. Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her. “Oh come on you’re pre-med, I’m sure it’s not even that bad.” 

As he said this, Roxas walked over to where Xion was still leaning against the door. He gently pushed her stiff body aside to open the door just enough so that his could see the entirety of the room. A large shadow sat in the propped hospital bed facing the morning view out the open window. Long dark curling locks wound down the figure in rivulets like water, streaming every which way. With the cast of sunlight, Roxas could make out what seemed to be hundreds of cysts spanning across the person’s back. 

Roxas could feel his breakfast trying to make a second appearance. He swallowed hard as he closed the door with a near silent click. He stared at his hand still holding the handle as he took a shaky breath. 

“That wasn’t a person, I don’t know what we just saw but I absolutely refuse to believe it was human.” There was a waver in Roxas’ voice as he spoke. It was an effort to lift his head to look back at Xion still standing stiff next to him. “We are never talking about whatever that was ever again.” 

Xion nodded. She appeared to have already compartmentalized what had just transpired, filing away the trauma in the back of her mind to hopefully forget later. She said, “Welp, I’m tired of looking. Let's just see if she’s still in the breakroom.” 

Shrugging his shoulders, Roxas trailed after Xion on fawns legs. A place to sit and rest was looking like a good idea. 

The break room was a fairly medium size room, cozy looking but not too comfortable. There was a door to the right of the room as Roxas and Xion walked in. They noticed a counter upon which sat a coffee machine and baskets of snacks, next to the counter a drink vending machine. A loveseat couch faced the entrance and another one perpendicular faced a small flat screen TV. The sounds of a sitcom could be heard through the poor speakers. On one of the loveseats, a young woman was lying face first on the lumpy, stained cushions snoring like a chainsaw. Her hair, loosely tied up in a bun, was smooshed out around her head like a red halo. She’d covered her face with a newspaper as a makeshift “do not disturb” sign. 

Xion and Roxas stood in the doorway, gave each other a look. Without even a verbal cue, they threw down in a sudden death match of rock paper scissors. 

After losing twice in a row, Roxas threw his head back and groaned. “Best three of five.” 

“Dude no, you suck at this game and you’re just gonna keep losing,” Xion said. She had always been able to one-up Roxas when it came to quick thinking. 

“I’ll pay for your lunch,” Roxas said, pleadingly. Xion knew he didn’t have even a slim chance of winning but shrugged anyway. 

“1, 2, 3, shoot!” Roxas let out a lengthy sigh as his scissors failed him again. He pointed them at Xion’s smug face accusingly. “Fuck! I swear one day I’m going to expose you as the dirty rat cheater you are.”

Xion wasn’t entirely convinced he ever would. Rock paper scissors was an art of quick thinking and good prediction. Roxas was smart, but he had neither of those traits. 

“Sure you will Roxy,” Xion said, giving Roxas a gentle pat on the back and a light shove. “Just go ask that lady for help already, we’re burnin’ daylight.”

No sound was made as feet padded softly across the old ratty carpet, just as equally stained and worn as the couches. Though the rest of the hospital may have been sterilized by … Sanitary Technicians, the breakroom had been left decidedly untouched. One could only guess the amount of coffee and other various fluids and crumbs the breakroom had soaked up in its prime. 

When Roxas made it over to the couch, he took the woman’s delicate shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. She didn’t stir, only gave a derisive snort in her coma-like sleep. Roxas threw a look at Xion that clearly read “what in the hell do I do about this”, to which he merely received a muffled laugh and a wave of the hand in response. 

A throat cleared. “Ma’am, ma’am, I was hoping you could help my friend and I. We’re--” 

A pair of piercing grey eyes fluttered open and a very firm grip was suddenly on Roxas’ arm. “Huh?” was the only sound to leave his lips before the entire room began to spin.

The woman, now standing, pulled Roxas over her shoulder and slammed him to the ground all in one swift motion. She was breathing heavily with the effort it had taken to down someone much taller than she. Or, perhaps it was because she had put all her strength into nearly shattering the bones of an underweight intern. 

Once the dust had settled, panic set into the woman’s soft face. “Oh, I’m so sorry about that. Are you ok?” she said. She appeared hesitant to even offer her hand to help Roxas to his feet. Instead, she clasped them in front of her as if to stop herself from doing any more harm. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m ok, think I’ll just lie here for a bit if that’s ok.” Roxas wheezed a bit, his head hitting the floor with a smack. 

Ignoring Roxas’ clear distress as he lay motionless, Xion stepped over him to take the woman’s hands in her own, holding them to her chest. Her eyes did their best to emulate the galaxy with how starstruck she looked. “Wow, that was freakin amazing! Could you show me how to do that?” Xion turned to look at her friend spread out on the dirty floor. “See Roxas? Who says doctors can’t be professional wrestlers?”

“Yep, guess they can.” Assured he probably didn’t have a concussion, Roxas sat up. 

A wide-eyed look from Roxas and then to Xion, and the woman pulled her hands away from Xion’s tight grasp. “Who exactly are you guys, ‘cause I’m slightly freaked out at the moment.” 

“How rude of us! I’m Xion and this is my dimwitted but lovable side-kick, Roxas,” Xion said. She gestured between the two of them. 

Roxas pushed himself up from the floor with a grunt. He could feel a headache coming on from all the commotion and bizarreness and hoped these shenanigans wouldn’t be a regular occurrence. “Could you please stop calling me your sidekick? I’m older than you.” 

“Psshh, yeah by a whole six days.” Xion waved a hand in Roxas’ direction as if to dismiss his complaints. 

“That’s still older than you!” 

“And yet you’re still my sidekick.” Xion shrugged. 

Growing impatient with all the bickering, the woman rubbed her eyes. “Could you two please stop arguing and tell me what you felt was important enough that you had to wake me up from my nap?” 

“Oh right, well ma’am …” Xion squinted at the ID tag clipped to the white lab coat the woman wore. The face on the tag presented a much happier and more refreshed woman than the one standing before them. The only real clue that they were the same people was the shock of deep red hair. Xion brightened at the name on the tag. “Dr. Kairi! We need help finding Dr. Riku. Oh, and also I’m your new intern! Pleasure to meet you.”

Kairi straightened her coat and smoothed the wrinkles in her blouse that her nap had created. She let down her hair from its wrecked bun only to put it back up in a high ponytail, as if to salvage her professionalism. 

Cheeks a bit red, Kairi coughed into her hand and spoke in a much more level tone, a smile lighting up her features. “Pleasure to meet you Xion. I look forward to working with you.” Kairi had always wanted to act as a big sister figure to hopeful young women looking to make it in the medical field. God only knew there were too few and far between. 

Mimicking her new mentor’s attitude change, Xion chirped back a very professional, “Likewise.”

Kairi pointed at Roxas, who was rubbing his sore head. “So I can assume your sidekick here is going to be working with Dr. Riku?” 

Roxas grimaced. “My name’s Roxas. Please don’t encourage her name calling.” 

“Sorry about that. Roxas ... I got it now.” Kairi, in fact, did not have it. To her, Roxas looked so much like Ventus it would be hard to tell them apart, probably even if they were in the same room. Kairi made a mental note only to address them by their names as infrequently as possible. Pronouns from now on were her best friend. Life only ever got more complicated. Kairi sighed. “Anyway we’re wasting time standing around here, let's go find Dr. Riku.” 

As it so happened, they didn’t need to find Riku as he had found them. 

They had all wandered around for a bit. Kairi had suggested that until they found Riku, Roxas could tag along with her and Xion on a few errands. 

The first stop they needed to make was at the pharmacy located near the main building’s cafe and gift shop. They stopped in for a while to chat with the lady behind the counter as they waited on a few necessities for Kairi’s patients. The lady raised an eyebrow at the two new faces trailing Kairi, who only gave the lady a laugh and a hand wave. Everyone in the hospital knew when it was time for Kairi to go home. They could see the signs and smell the gloom a mile away. But they also knew that Kairi was not one to leave interns in the dust, that she would always carry out her duty even if it meant overtime. Kairi was a saint, and for that she paid with her sleep. 

As they all made their way out of the pharmacy, and back towards the elevators when the double doors of the entrance swung open. A tall man stepped through, his short silver hair an obvious mess on top of his head. In his arms was a limp young man, presumably passed out. Light blue eyes darted around the room until they landed square on Kairi. Instantly, Roxas and Xion knew that this was their guy. 

Frantically, Riku made his way over to the group. “Kairi! This kid is having some kind of reaction, give me a hand!” He lifted his arm that was supporting the shoulders of the young man. Riku showed no signs that he was struggling to carry the weight at all. 

Kairi nodded, her mouth a straight line. “Xion grab a gurney, Roxas find me an IV bag. Go!” Pushing her coat sleeves up, she rushed over to Riku’s side. 

Roxas and Xion dashed off in search of the necessary supplies. Roxas scrambled into the nearby medical supply closet, rummaging through the stock in search of an IV. Still searching for what he needed, Xion wheeled by with a bright orange gurney she found. 

Xion poked her head into the supply closet. “C’mon man, this is no time to be goofing off!” Her sneakers squeaked on the bright tile as she sprinted away with the gurney in tow. 

Roxas could feel his heartbeat pick up by the second, thundering in his chest until it was rattling his ribs and echoing in his ears. He shook his head, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Roxas didn’t suffer through four painstaking years as a pre-med student just to break down now, on the first day of an important internship. Someone’s life depended on him gathering the supplies Kairi had requested. 

Back on the scene, supplies in hand, Roxas saw the young man being loaded onto the gurney. His pallid face showed a sheen of sweat and Roxas could barely see the shallow dip of the man’s breast as he tried to breathe. 

“Ve- Roxas, place the IV and Xion, grab a defibrillator!” Kairi said, bent over the gurney next to Riku. No time to waste. 

Shock marred Xion’s face. She stayed where she was, right behind Kairi, hesitant to move. “But he's not …” She didn't dare finish her sentence.

“Just go.” Kairi’s tone left no room for argument. Jolted into action by the tone, Xion did as she was told. 

Standing over the young man, Roxas could feel a steady tremor work it’s way up his arms through his hands. His knees had locked, eyes transfixed on the gurney. He had already convinced himself that he was capable of working this internship, but his body didn’t agree. 

A strong hand on his shoulder made Roxas jump, and he whipped his head around to look at the offender. Up close, Riku’s eyes took on a paler shade of blue. “You can do this,” he said. 

Even though Roxas had been telling himself this repeatedly since the start of the day, it sounded different coming from Riku. Perhaps it was the fact that someone's life was at stake and Dr. Riku was willing to put his faith in an intern he’d never spoken to. Roxas held his breath and slid the needle into the young man’s vein. When he glanced back, Riku gave him a soft smile and a pat on the shoulder. Roxas forgot Riku’s hand was even still there, as focused as he was on the task at hand. He let his breath out in a big sigh. 

They rushed over to the ICU, people and staff moving out of their way as the gurney wheeled by. Riku and Kairi were in front, Roxas and Xion trailing behind their attendings, waiting for any directions that may be shouted their way. 

Once they got to the ICU, they carefully and quickly moved the young man onto an empty bed and hooked him up to the necessary equipment. The morphine in his system seemed to have no effect as the monitor indicated his pulse was getting slower by the minute. Riku cut open the young man’s shirt with medical scissors and began to perform CPR, Kairi right beside him. All Roxas could do was watch as the two doctors and several nurses did everything they could to keep the young man alive. 

Every sound slipped away and all that was left was the decreasing tempo of the beeping heart monitor. The nurses and doctors appeared like they were moving in slow motion. Roxas wasn’t sure he would be able to move forward in this internship if he witnessed someone so young die on the first day. 

Roxas could feel a soft hand slip into his own limp one at his side. He looked over to Xion, who was staring straight ahead, barely moving a muscle. Roxas was incredibly grateful that she was with him on this internship. He didn’t know if he would even have the courage to be here if it weren’t for her. Xion tightened her hold on his hand. 

The sound of flatlining drew their attention back to the heart monitor. Their hearts dropped.

 

“Not today you don’t!” Riku stopped performing CPR and Kairi moved in his place, defibrillator fired up and ready. They waited a bit until they heard the go ahead from the machine. “Clear!”

Riku stood by as Kairi worked her magic with the defibrillator. The body jerked in response to hundreds of volts electricity flowing through it. Still no heartbeat.

“Clear!” Another shock and nothing.

“Clear!” A third shock to the young man’s chest. His body convulsed for a moment. The entire room fell silent. No one dared to breath until finally, a faint but steady beep came from the heart monitor. Roxas expected pats on the back of congratulations, cries of joy perhaps followed by some tears. In reality, moved in to check on the patient and continue to monitor his condition. Dr. Riku and Dr. Kairi exchanged a high five followed by Kairi standing on the tips of her toes to ruffle Riku’s hair. 

Xion’s grin lit up her face. She smacked Roxas’ shoulder. “I told you everything would be alright.”

“You said no such thing.” Roxas had the feeling even sleep couldn’t ward off the mental tiredness he felt. No wonder the doctors always looked so exhausted. 

“Shut up,” Xion said. She looked over at her attending, who was currently holding a conversation with Riku. Xion walked over to her. “Dr. Kairi! You were amazing!” She turned to Riku. “And you too man. That was something straight out of a movie.”

Riku and Kairi shared a look, grins mirroring each other. Xion’s overt enthusiasm was like looking into the past. All that spunk and eagerness didn’t exactly go away with age, but it mellowed out. They remembered how chaotic their first year as interns was, the mental rollercoaster they were put through.

“Thanks a lot, we try and hey, you two weren’t so bad yourselves.” Kairi patted Xion’s shoulder. “Especially you Xion. You kept your cool and stayed focused when the pressure was on. I'm impressed.”

A slight red tinged Xion’s cheeks as her smile grew wider at the praise. Compliments were always a good sign. 

Dr. Riku stepped between them. “Hate to interrupt, but I really gotta go. I’m totally swamped covering Dr. Ienzo while he’s on his honeymoon.” 

“Hey wait! At least introduce yourself to our new interns.” Kairi grabbed at his arm, giving it a firm squeeze. 

Laughing, Riku scratched at his chin lightly, like there was a ghost of facial hair there for him to scratch at. Probably a habit. “Alright uh, I’m Dr. Riku. It’s nice to meet you two.” He stuck out his hand for them both to shake. This side of Riku was a great contrast to the man who had just saved someone’s life, Roxas noted. 

Xion shook his hand with both of hers. “I’m Xion and this is my wonderful assistant, Roxas.” Roxas didn’t appreciate being demoted to an assistant but decided not to comment on it. “Roxas here is gonna be your intern starting today.”

Riku offered his hand to Roxas. “I look forward to working with you Roxas.”

After watching everything that just transpired, Roxas got the impression he was in the presence of a superhero. He took Riku’s hand and shook once. “Me too.”

“Well, now that everything's settled it’s time for you two to learn how awful being a doctor is,” Kairi said. She draped her arms over the intern’s shoulders, steering them out into the hallway. “Go on, Riku. I’ll show these kiddies the ropes while you take care of your patients.” 

Riku tipped his head and followed them out. He still wasn’t wearing his lab coat or ID tag. “Thanks a bunch Kairi, I’ll meet up with you guys at lunch.” With a wave, he was headed in the opposite direction. Presumably to where he could formally clock in for the day and grab what he needed to start his day.

Kairi watched him go with a fond smile, then turned around to address the interns still trapped under the weight of her small arms. “Alright you two, let's get to work.”


	4. Cake Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your favorite Dr. AU is back y'all! I've been excited to put out this chapter for a long time and it's now here! Thanks again to my immensely talented co-writer Chowder for helping bring y'all some quality content. We were busy working on a secret project ;) for a bit so we shelved this chapter for a bit. Now it's back to business. As always commenting means the world to use so any feedback is appreciated, thanks for reading and we'll see y'all next time!

Interning under a doctor sucked. Xion had only been employed for five hours and, frankly, she was ready to quit. As if nothing had happened that morning, Kairi handed Xion a stack of files on each patient under their care at the ICU and was given explicit instructions to memorize each one. By the time she was finished, hunched over the mountain of papers in the break room, Xion’s brain had been reduced to a nice little puddle of goop. 

Equally as tortured, Roxas was faring no better. Having noticed his hesitance placing the IV, Kairi set him on the task of replacing the morphine drip of every patient on the floor. As an added bonus, she instructed the nurses to page Roxas if they had a patient who needed a shot, which left the poor intern running back and forth the entire morning. 

Finally, by the grace and good spirit of a higher power, lunchtime rolled around. The hospital staff cafeteria was located on the first towards the back of the building. It was a good size, big enough to hold a majority of the staff. To one side were the kitchens and self serve counters, and the rest of the cafeteria was all wobbly tables and cheap chairs.

Having gotten their own lunches, Roxas and Xion practically melted into the hard backed cafeteria chairs as if they were a luxury chaise. 

Kairi stood over them, one hand on her hip and the other holding her umpteenth cup of coffee. She barely looked affected by the fact that she was running on almost a day of no sleep. The only indication she was even remotely tired were the few wisps of hair escaping the bun on her head and the creases of her once-pressed shirt. “Wow, you two did great today!” 

With his head pressed into the table, Roxas didn’t give any indication he even heard what he said. The groan he let out vibrated in his skull, agitating his growing headache. 

“Doctor Kairi, do you hate us?” Xion asked.

A fond smile graced her features. Kairi took a seat in the chair across from them. “Aww of course not. I just see a lot of potential in the two of you, and I want you guys to become the best doctors you can be.” 

“And you decided to do that by torturing us.” It wasn’t even a question. Roxas lifted his head just so he could look Kairi in the eyes. 

“Precisely.” Kairi’s smile didn’t look so fond as devious in that moment. Roxas and Xion paled. “But you two took it like champs! Especially you Xion. I’m proud to have you as my intern.” 

Even if her mind told her she should scream, Xion remained calm. However, there was no hiding the subtle flush of cheeks. Xion coughed into her hand. “So are you proud enough to buy me that lunch you promised?”

Kairi barked a laugh, almost on the edge of hysteria than actual mirth at that point. She reached into the back pocket of her dress pants and produced a, quite rumpled, five dollar bill. “Knock yourself out.” 

Xion graciously accepted the cash and immediately handed it to Roxas. He gave the money a slow blink. 

The plastic backing of the chair creaked ominously as Xion leaned back in it. “Don’t think you’re off the hook. You still owe me for that rock paper scissors game, so go get me some lunch,” she said. 

“Are you asking me to buy you two lunches?” Roxas asked. He gestured at the lunch already in front of Xion with the crumpled money. 

“Yeah, were you even listening? Geez, I swear sometimes it’s just in one ear, out the other with you.” 

“Ok but why would you two lunches when you only need one.” Roxas stood anyways. 

Xion cocked her head. “I don’t get what you're trying to say?” she said, genuinely puzzled.

A commotion nearby startled the response out of Roxas. There was a loud bang. When he and Xion looked to see what was going on nearby, they saw that a tall lanky man was standing on one of the tables. His hair was a shock of red hair partially restrained by a tacky flame bandana. The apron he wore over his flannel shirt and worn jeans was stained in various spots.

The man cleared his throat. “Attention doctors, nurses, and humble workers of Sacred Heart! As some of you may know, today my wonderful bastard husband and I are celebrating three short years of marriage. So I’d like you all to join me in toast.” He held up his hand, but there was no glass in it. “This man is the moon to my sun; my reason for being; my very best friend.” The last point was said warmly, and contained enough affection to make even the toughest person melt. “To Isa! He’s one hell of a top!” Ignoring the last part, the people sitting in the cafeteria returned the toast with enthusiasm. “To Isa!”

The man in question, sat at the table his husband was standing on, hung his head in his hands. A closer look revealed that his ears had turned red. Isa stood from his chair and tugged at Lea’s arm to pull him down. 

“Thank you,” Isa said, wrapping his arms around Lea in a brief public display of affection. 

For a moment Lea stood still. He had expected to be chewed out, because embarrassing Isa usually resulted in some firm words. Soon Lea relaxed into the embrace, and the two stood there for a bit just holding each other, enjoying the moment. Even more unexpectedly, Isa pulled back to peck a quick kiss to the side of Lea’s mouth, further breaking his self-imposed “no PDA” rule. Lea broke out into a smile that was all teeth and scrunched watery eyes. 

On the other side of the cafeteria, Xion and Roxas politely clapped for the happy couple. Kairi, on the other hand, cupped her hands around her mouth to shout, “Congrats Isa! Fuck you Lea!” 

A teary-eyed Lea waved back at her. “Thanks Kairi!”

By the time the show was over, the cafeteria went back to the white noise coming from the kitchen and the mumble of overworked hospital staff. It was almost like they were used to such shenanigans. 

“Uh, why the strong aggression towards the lunch lady?” Roxas sat back down, Xion’s second lunch forgotten in the excitement. 

“I’m glad you asked!” Kairi clasped her hands in front of her chest, a bit of mania sparkling in her eyes. “During my second year here, Lea and I hung out all the time. Then one day Isa walked in and Lea thought it’d be funny to faint and fall onto me, knocking over my lunch and ruining my surgical scrubs. He claimed he couldn’t help it because Isa was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and it caused his legs to malfunction.”

“And you’re still holding a grudge over that?” Roxas asked.

“Maybe they were some really nice scrubs.” Xion picked at what was left of the meal on the tray in front of her. Some type of veggie and rice dish. 

Lea sauntered up to the three of them, leaning casually on the table like he owned the place. Kairi scowled at him behind her cup. “They were some pretty dope scrubs. Y’know I still suffer from that condition to this day, here check this out.” Lea turned to look over his shoulder. “Hey, Isa!” 

Like a dog being called, Isa gave his full attention over to Lea. He even tilted his head slightly, as if to add to the effect. As soon as Lea made eye contact with his husband, he clutched his chest and pretended to lose his balance, stumbling to keep his grasp on the table. 

The blush on Isa’s face became much more apparent and he whipped around to the other people at his table, trying their best to hide their laughter. 

Lea stood up straight. “See? The doctor said I may never recover,” he said as he solemnly hung his head. All four of them let the silence linger for a bit. Xion and Roxas made eye contact and Kairi continued to scowl. Lea smirked at her. “So Kairi, you gonna introduce me to your new friends or what?”

“Ah, how very rude of me, Ve-Fuck!” Roxas and Xion jumped a bit at Kairi’s outburst. Kairi massaged the bridge of her nose. “… Roxas, Xion, this is my gay emotional support clown. Gay emotional support clown, meet Roxas and Xion.”

“Pleasure to meet ya. The name’s Lea, get it memorized.” Lea pointed at his temple and playfully winked. 

Xion replied with a bubbly, “Nice to meet you to Lea.” Roxas, still slightly exhausted, simply waved and grunted, laying his head back on the cold table.

Kairi let out a prolonged groan. “Lea I swear If I hear you say that to one more person I’m gonna put my head through a wall.”

“Yeesh, looks like that 16-hour shift didn’t treat you very well huh. How about some anniversary cake? That’ll lift your spirits.” Lea pulled out a chair from a nearby empty table and got on it to make another proclamation. The people around them looked on again, but no one seemed even remotely surprised. “Attention fellow hospital workers! Since I am such a benevolent soul, I decided to make plenty of anniversary cake for everyone. But then I remembered there’s hundreds of you and some of you I don’t even like so I made 3. Point is, come get your cake before someone else takes it!”

As one, chaos descended on the cafeteria as everyone made straight for the lunch lines. People were scrambling over each other like it was a scene straight out of hell, and these people were the poor famished souls deprived of nourishment. With all the yelling and noise, Roxas realized he wouldn’t get any rest, so he lifted his head to watch. 

“Don’t you think everyone is overreacting a bit? I mean it’s just cake; how good can it be?” Roxas asked. Xion smacked him in the back of the head for the second time that day, much lighter than before. Instead of reacting, Roxas just sighed, defeated. “Why?” 

“Silly Roxas. It’s never just cake, all cake is valid and I won’t tolerate any cake slander. Remember this lesson well,” Xion said.

Kairi laughed as they bickered and took another sip of coffee. Roxas and Xion had such great chemistry and she was glad they had each other. It could get lonely around the hospital sometimes, with so much to do and barely any downtime.

“Lea’s like a hospital renowned baker. Hell, I’ve seen staff tear each other apart over his pastries more than once.” Kairi leaned close and lowered her voice. “Legend has it a patient who wasn’t responding to any form of treatment made a complete recovery after eating one of Lea’s muffins.” 

“I see.” Xion’s tone was serious. Slowly, she stood up. Then, energy restored, violently ran into the horde of hungry staff, elbowing her way through until she disappeared from sight. 

Kairi’s eyes grew wide, horrified. “Xion!” But the woman she was calling out to was long gone. 

Roxas remained seated, particularly amused and completely unfazed by Xion’s suicide mission. “Don’t worry Dr. Kairi, Xion is one tough lady. Once she sets her sights on something she’s relentless until she gets it. She’ll be fine.” 

Soothed by Roxas’ reassurance, Kairi leaned back in her seat, tension drained from her body. The more she learned about Xion, the more excited she was to mentor her. 

The throng of people were still scrambling over each other on the other side of the cafeteria. Some people had gotten their piece, though some slices were looking a bit squashed, and yet the crowd didn’t seem to get any smaller. 

Enraptured by the animalistic behaviour of supposed professionals, a voice calling to them caught Kairi and Roxas’ attention. “Kairi! Roxas!” Dr. Riku jogged over to their table, before saying anything to them he turned to acknowledge the clambering hoard. There was a slightly disgusted look on his face. “Uhm, what’s going on here?” 

“Lea made cake for his and Isa’s anniversary, but not enough for everyone,” Kairi said as she rested her head on her hand. Even with the coffee trying hard to work its magic, the bags under her eyes made her look as tired as she felt. 

“Ah, I see.” Riku appeared to lose himself in thought for a moment. 

With the hand she was resting on, Kairi smacked herself in the face. “Just make sure to get me a piece.” 

Riku smiled larger than Roxas thought he was capable of. “Thanks Kairi you’re an angel.” Riku turned and sneakily inserted himself into the hungry crowd.

Roxas looked between Kairi and the spot where Riku had disappeared to. “What the heck was that about?” 

“Riku has a bit of a sweet tooth. And by a bit, I mean he can be very easily be bribed by chocolate. Which is probably why he doesn’t want people knowing.” Kairi snickered.

“He can’t be that bad.” 

“Dude, once I almost got him to work his entire shift in a clown outfit just for gigantic Hershey's bar.” Kairi smiled as she reminisced about the old days. She let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, Dr. Aqua bumped into him on the elevator and completely tore him apart.”

Roxas recalled meeting the esteemed Chief of Medicine before he and Xion started their internship. Dr. Aqua seemed like such a warm and welcoming woman; like the perfect mother Roxas never had. Though he felt like there was something more to her, lying just beneath the surface.

“I mean she’s so nice she probably just let him off with a warning right?” Roxas highly doubted Aqua had a mean bone in her body.

Kairi laughed so hard she almost sneezed coffee through her nose. She held a finger up as she took her time regaining her composure, only to fail multiple times and fall back into another laughing fit. Roxas just stared with a look of concern as several seconds turned into several minutes and there was no sign of her stopping. He couldn’t remember the last time Dr. Kairi had taken a breath and her face was starting to becoming a worrying shade of red. 

When she finally managed to calm herself down enough to get air back in her lungs, Kairi let out a big breath. “Listen, Dr. Aqua is the salt of the earth but she can end your existence just like that.” She brought her fingers up to snap them in front of Roxas' face, making him start. 

“Don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration?” Aqua really couldn’t be like that. Not sweet, kind Aqua who reassured him about the position and offered encouragement. 

“Nope. Hell, she even killed me earlier today.” Kairi looked none too willing to elaborate. 

“Well if you're dead then how are you still here? Quick follow up: would that make the hospital heaven or hell?” Off to the side, the hoard was still going at it. Roxas could even swear there were some people passed out on the floor. Or worse. 

“Oh pssh, the hospital is normal, but I'm clearly just a spirit with unfinished business.” Kairi shrugged, nonchalant and drained the remainder of her coffee in a single gulp. There were bits of coffee grounds at the bottom. 

“Riiight,” Roxas replied. He still didn’t believe what she said was actually the truth. 

A familiar face, still bright and full of energy, poked his head into the cafeteria’s doors. Sora's eyes scanned the tables, until he found who he was looking for. Upon spotting the two chatting at their table, he called out to them. “Kairi! Roxas! Hey!” Sora opened the doors fully to jog over to his two friends, completely ignoring the giant hoard altogether. 

“So you two managed to find each other huh? I’m glad everything worked out,” Sora said. He opened his mouth as if to say something and paused, head swiveling from side to side, he sniffed the air for a bit. Eyes glazed, he seemed to be processing what exactly he was smelling.

“Sora what are you--?” Sora’s excitement cut Roxas’ question short. 

“Woohoo! Lea made cake, didn’t he?” Sora’s eyes were practically sparkling and his smile was a mile wide. While Roxas was scared out of his mind by Sora’s extremely animated expression, Kairi was completely used to Sora being … Sora. 

Without even having his assumption confirmed, Sora made a mad dash to the counter where the hoard had started to thin and the body count was being tallied by unenthusiastic kitchen staff. This, however, did not mean that people were any less animalistic and depraved. Sora, tunnel vision zeroed in on the promise of cake, managed about two steps until he slammed into a brick wall. At least that’s what he thought he collided with, but walls didn’t grunt when you walked into them. 

If there was one thing that fairy tales seemed to capture well, it was love at first sight. A beautiful prince would swoop in on his noble steed to save the princess and they would fall in love and live happily ever after. The unfortunate truth was, as soon as someone popped their heads out of the clouds for a minute to do a reality check, the concept of ‘love at first sight’ was unrealistic. But in that moment, when Sora looked up into clear blue eyes (the shade was teal, if he had to be sappy about it), he felt all the air leave his lungs like he had been hit by a ten ton weight. 

In all his twenty-four years of life, Sora couldn’t place a moment in time where he had ever seen someone so … pretty, for lack of a better word. Yet, at the same time, pretty perfectly described the man whom he had bumped into. Even with smears of neon blue frosting smudged across his face, this man was absolutely gorgeous. A strong jaw with a hint of stubble, but gently curved cheeks that were probably very soft. Sora had the intense urge to run the calloused pads of his fingers across fair skin. So he did, wiping frosting away as he went and watched as the skin he touched turned a lovely shade of pink. 

Riku, for the most part, had gone stock still faced with the round baby face and bright eyes of a man so intensely cute. He hadn’t even registered that there was even cake on his face. And when the man in front of him touched him, the bared drag of work-worn fingers sliding down his cheek to make a trail in the sugary frosting, Riku’s brain completely shut down. 

Sora and Riku stood in a trance for what felt like years, surrounded by the ongoing chaos. The bubble they were in swelled and swirled with charged energy, hearts and flowers and all that fluffy stuff could start popping out and no one would be remotely surprised.

In reality, only about 4 minutes passed, and Sora and Riku showed no signs of stopping.

“How long do you think they’re gonna be like that?” Roxas was borderline creeped out.

Kairi tapped the bottom of her empty coffee cup on the table for lack of anything to do. “Dunno. Could be hours, months, years for all I know.” 

The chair next to Roxas scraped unpleasantly against the ground and Roxas winced. Xion sat down in a huff, completely unscathed from the cake rumble. She placed three pieces of cake onto the table with a self-satisfied smirk. 

“Aww thanks for the cake Xion! You’re the best,” Kairi said as she reached to drag a plate closer. 

Xion's smirk faltered as the plate was taken out from under her nose. She could only watch, powerless. “Y-you’re welcome Dr. Kairi.” There was a tremble to her voice. 

Roxas made an attempt to grab the second plate, but Xion shot him a look like a feral animal, so he pulled his hand back. He would prefer not to lose his hand over a slice of cake. 

Over the table, Xion caught sight of Sora and Riku who were still locked in their trance in front of a pile of bodies. Though an unusual sight at best, she shrugged it off a dug into her cake with ferocity. 

The sound of Riku’s pager going off was the needle that finally popped the bubble. Riku shot upright. He scrambled around his coat pockets and when he found nothing, proceeded to pat himself down in search of his pager. All the while, he rambled off multiple ‘excuse me’s and ‘I’m sorry’s, until he finally found the device on his person. Riku held it close to his face. 

“Um, uh, it was great meeting you--well more like bumping into you.” Riku wanted to hit himself for acting like such a bumbling idiot. “I … gotta go drain a patient's back fluid, so … see you around I hope, please?” He somehow managed to reign in the panic bubbling up inside him when he realised he had said the last part out loud. The piece of cake in his hands had been long forgotten in favour of … sweeter things. So when Riku turned to leave, he dumped the rest of the cake in the trash, using his coat sleeve to try and wipe the remainder of the frosting off of his face. Despite having no cake, Riku felt like he was on a sugar high. 

Hobbling over on shaky legs, Sora pulled out a seat at Kairi, Roxas, and Xion’s table to slump into it. A dreamy sigh escaped his lips. He looked at his hand, the one that had touched Riku’s face, utterly transfixed by the ghost sensations he could still feel. The grin on his face was wobbly. 

Xion broke into a coughing fit as she tried to say something, but as the coughing fit went on her face turned progressively redder. “G-ga-gay,” she said, barely getting the word out of her mouth.

Ever the caring nurse, Sora was at her side in an instant, rubbing her back in calming circles. “Gosh, Xion are you alright? You really shouldn’t talk with food in your mouth, it’s dangerous.” Sora handed Xion her half-empty water cup that she had gotten with her lunch, and aided her as she gulped down the rest of it. 

“So, what were you trying to say that was so important you forgot to breathe?” Roxas asked with more than a bit of sass in his voice. Sora raised an eyebrow at Xion. Slightly embarrassed her planned joke resulted in her actually choking on a piece of cake, Xion stewed silently for a moment. 

Kairi spoke up in her stead. “She called Sora gay, and frankly we were all thinking it.” With no constant caffeine rush to keep her spirits high, Kairi’s agitation was starting to seep through. 

Sora tried to pull off a face of offended shock, but his features were so soft and his face so round he looked more like a confused baby. He scoffed. “You guys have got it all wrong, okay? I was just surprised because he was really tall and caught me off guard.” 

“Yeah, sure.” “Definitely.” “Mhmm.” Clearly, there was doubt. 

“Besides, he’s not even my type. His hair is all silvery-white and unnecessarily spiky, but still looks so soft. Like an angry cloud. His eye are like this weird teal color that are totally distracting and look like the ocean back home. And don’t even get me started on his arm--” When he realized what he was saying, Sora’s whole face grew bright red. He could swear there was even steam coming out of his ears with how hot they had become. In his embarrassment, Sora sat back down in his seat and wrapped his head in his arms to try and save face. 

Kairi laid a caring hand on Sora’s head, gently running her fingers through his hair. “It’s okay Sora, you’re just very gay. Everything will be alright.”

Never one to deal with his feelings, Roxas took that as his cue to leave. “Well, Sora I wish you luck in your pursuit of love but I’m gonna get back to work.” The only reply he managed to receive was an unenthusiastic thumbs up. “See ya’ later Xion, bye Dr. Kairi.” 

Roxas collected his trash and picked up his tray. He easily found the waste bin and properly disposed of his leftovers, discarding the tray into a pile to be washed. As he left the cafeteria, Roxas avoided the pile of bodies with ease and waved at an unconcerned Lea in the kitchen, who waved back at him. 

“Later Roxy, don’t work too hard!” Xion called after him. Roxas nodded his acknowledgment with a small smile and then he pushed his way through the cafeteria doors.


End file.
